The Horizontal Facility is a co-operation framework of the European Union and the Council of Europe will assist beneficiaries in South-East Europe to comply with Council of Europe standards and European Union acquis in the framework of the enlargement process. This three-year initiative, which started in May 2016, will focus on three thematic areas:

Ensuring justice

Fighting corruption, economic crime and organised crime

Promoting anti-discrimination and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups

The current joint Action aims to support the Bonsia and Herzegovia authorities in ensuring compliance with Council of Europe standards as necessary and to assist them in advancing further towards stabilisation and European integration.

Specifically, the Action aims to:

strengthen the capacities of staff to deal with persons deprived of liberty

design and provide meaningful activities for persons deprived of liberty

ensure that access to primary health care in prisons is equal to that provided in the community

and support the treatment of mentally incapacitated offenders based on human rights standards.